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8 times Doug Ducey got his way

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey got his way in a big way during this year’s legislative session, columnist Laurie Roberts says. Consider:
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$5 MILLION FOR THINKING THE 'RIGHT' WAY. The Legislature sunk $5 million in annual ongoing funding into three “economic freedom schools” that were established with seed money from the Charles Koch Foundation.
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PROP. 123 RAID ON THE KIDS' TRUST FUND. If it passes, the governor will say that’s he added billions in funding to schools while cutting taxes - and nobody will even notice that most of those billions came from kids’ trust fund.
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PUBLIC LOAN GUARANTEES FOR CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATORS. Ducey has a particular affinity for charter schools. This year, the private businesses that operate them will get a whopping $100 million in public funds to use as loan guarantees.
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MORE TAX CUTS. He won $26 million more in tax cuts, including $8 million in business cuts he proposed. This despite mounting losses to the state’s general fund due to the massive 2011 corporate tax cuts.
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MORE PRIVATE PRISONS. Ducey won $17 million to fund another 1,000 private prison beds (on top of the 1,000-bed private prison beds he won last year – regardless of whether they are actually needed.
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A STACKED SUPREME COURT. The governor gets to expand the Arizona Supreme Court from five justices to seven – solving a problem as yet unidentified by, well, anyone. Ducey is almost guaranteed to appoint staunch conservatives, ensuring no more pesky legal opinions that say the state illegally underfunded schools.
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A NEW ERA OF ‘DARK MONEY’ CAMPAIGN SPENDING. Ducey somehow found a way to spread the darkness of anonymous political donations. As a result of this year’s work, virtually all non-profits will be able to campaign covertly.
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A PLAN TO THWART ANY THREAT TO DARK MONEY EXPANSION. Facing the prospect of a voter referendum to stop dark money expansion, a last-minute bill popped up to thwart any such voter drive – making the tough task of overturning the new law nearly impossible.
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